Frank Zappa

Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940– December 4, 1993) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, record producer, actor and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than 30years, Zappa composed rock n' roll, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestral and musique concrète works, and produced almost all of the more than sixtyalbums he released with his band the Mothers of Invention and as a solo artist. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed album covers.

Zappa was a self-taught composer and performer, and his diverse musical influences led him to create music that was often difficult to categorize. While in his teens, he acquired a taste for 20th-century classical composers such as Edgard Varèse, Igor Stravinsky, and Anton Webern, along with 1950s rhythm and blues music. He began writing classical music in high school, while at the same time playing drums in rhythm and blues bands; later switching to electric guitar. His 1966 debut album with the Mothers of Invention, Freak Out!, combined songs in conventional rock and roll format with collective improvisations and studio-generated sound collages. He continued this eclectic and experimental approach, irrespective of whether the fundamental format was rock, jazz or classical.